Printing machine



Feb. 29, 1944. C, H, SAND, JR 2,342,898

PRINTING MACHINE l1=eb.'29, 1944. c. H. SAND, JR 2,342,898'.

PRINTING MACHINE Filed oct. 1o, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 2 l /I 30 I 5 1 .5 L -cf 7/ 2 i Patented F eb. 2.9, 1944 `PRINTING MACHINE vCharles H. Sand, Jr., Willoughby, Ohio, assigner to` Addressograph- Cleveland, Ohio, a

Multigraph Corporation, corporation of Delaware Application October 10, i940, Serial No. 360,573v

1 Claim. (Cl. lol- 306) This invention relates toa portable manuallyoperable` printing or addressing machine and particularly toa comparatively small device adapted to be ycarried from place to place and manipulated by one hand of the operator to im- `press characters. on a Vsuitable record sheet.

Morefparticularly, the device of this patent in its preferred form comprises a head adapted to carry a removable embossed platewith an inking ribbon extending across it and a platen adapted yto force the record material against the ribbon "toreceive a'n impression from the plate. The

head is provided with a handle, preferably in the form lof a pistol-grip, and the platen is operated by a finger lever adjacent the handle,I so that the operator can carry the device and effect the impression -with one hand.

My invention is illustrated inthe drawings hereof, and the lpreferred embodiment there shown is `hereinafter more fully explained.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 isa plan of the print-` ing'device; Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a front View, with the handle partly broken away; Fig. 4 is a plan of an illustrative embossed plate which may be employed Jin the printing device;` Fig. 5 is a. horizontal section through the device lina plane indicated by the line 5*-,5 on Fig. 6;'Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the entire device; Fig. 7 is a detail in vertical section in a plane indicated by the line 1-1 on Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a vertical section in the plane indicated by the line 8--8 on Fig. 6.

The main frame of the printing device is preferably one integral member comprising a head 10,153. shank Il 'extending rearwardly therefrom and a handle i Zextending downwardly from the shank and formed withv a forwardly upwardly extending open groove i3 into which the oper-l ating handle may extend. The .head carries on its under `face the embossed plate, and on its opposite sides ribbon spools from which an inked ribbon extends beneath the plate, as hereinafter explained.

VThe platen carrying frame of this device comprises a hollow arm bifurcated rto provide two rearwardly extending spaced `wings 2| which extend onto opposite sides of the shank of the main member to which it is pivoted by a transverse pin 30. 'Ihis platenv larm carries special platens as hereinafter described to coact with the ribbon and plate.

rThe operating lever 40 of the device liesl in the front portionof the handle groove I3 and is pivoted by a pin 4i extending into ears I4 which project forwardly from the 'handle member at opposite sides of the groove. At its upper endr the lever 40 is provided with a recess,42 bounded by a lug 43 infront thereof and a lug 44 of less height at the rear. The recess is ,normally occupied by a roller 50 which lies within the hollow'platen member 20 and is journalled on a pin 5I mounted'in'the downwardly extending side portion of such member. A tension spring 55 is anchored at its upperend to a pin 5B carriedr by the platen member and at its lower end tothe pin 51 ,carried by the back of the handle member. This spring lies within the groove of the handle member, as shown particularly in Fig. 6, and .tends to maintain the rollei 50 downin the recess at the upperlend of the operating handle 4U and such spring action norm'ally holds the operatinghandle in the position shown in Fig. 6. The lug43 in front of the roller 50 prevents rearward movement of the upper end of the handle but the lug 44 is low enough and gradual enough so that it can move beneath the roller. The result is that if the operator, grasping the handle I2, pulls thev lever. by hisr lingers, into the -groove 13,.'they lug 44 l ridesv beneath the roller 50 stretching the spring 55 andforcing the platen carried by the arm 20 into coaction with the. ribbon and plate to effect the printing.`

Referring now tothe plate and the means by which it is carried by the head, a. specimen plate is indicated at A in Fig. 4. My machine is adapted for printing either or both of` two sets ofembossed data on the plate, as for instance'.

two related addresses as indicated at a and. a-l on Fig. 4. tag provided with an opening a-2 by which it may be carried by a cord or hook, for instance. The plate also may have a recess (L -3, eccentrically placed at vthe end, cooperating with a suitable stop on the printing device to insure the plate beingv inserted right side up and right end foremost.

Secured to opposite sides of Athe head I0 are two strips having inturned flanges 6| directly below the underface of the head IU, whichl underface is flat in the region between the strips and above the flanges.l An embossed plate, such as illustrated in Fig. 4, for instance, may be slid into place from the end of the device above thcanges 6| with the type facing downwardly. A suitable pin 62-carried by thehead is adapted to coact with the notch a-3 inthe plate and allow it to reach final position, shown in Fig. l,

Such plate may conveniently be al only when the plate is inserted that end foremost and with the type on the plate facing downwardly.

The platen member is normally locked in an inactive position by a slidable latch bar 1li which is mounted on the underside of the shank and has a limited movement along such shank.

y the latch having slots 1| through which pins 'I2 pass into the shank. A suitable compression spring 14 mounted in a recess in the shank at the rear of the latch tends to force it forward and normally holds a shoulder 1B of the latch in engagement with a plate 25 rigidly secured to the platen arm. This is the position of the parts indicated in Fig. 6, where it will be seen that the latch locks the platen arm against operation.

When a properly positioned plate is inserted to the limit of its inward movement, so that the notch 1f-3 comes about the stop pin l2, the end of the plate abuts the front end of the latch 'Il and forces it rearwardly, thus causing the shoulder 1l w clear the plate 2l to release the platen arm, and then the operating lever I may be actuated to swing the platen arm upwardly to eiIect the printing. f

The strips il preferably' extend forwardly of the head II, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6, to provide guides for the plate. This makes it a simple matter, when the operator holds the device in one hand grasping the handle I2 and with his fingers about the lever 40, for him to use his other hand to place the plate in thisl guideway and then shove it rearwardly into place bneath the head to release the latch 10. A suitable spring acting on the edge of the inserted plate provides friction sumcient to overcome the force of the light spring 'Il so that the fully inserted plate will remain in position. The spring providing this friction may conveniently be made by bendf ing inwardly one of the strips 80, 'as shown at llainPig. 1.

To provide ink for the impression. I mount on the head an inked ribbon Il, the ends of which are wound up on two spools 8|. These spools lie in recesses |Ir formed in opposite sides of the head Il. The forward ends of the spools` have their bores extending over short pins 82,

Fig. l, carried by a removable front plate Il which is secured by screws to the head Il. The rear end of the spools extend over and are connected to pins 85 slidably and rotatably mounted in web positions It of the head on opposite sides of the shank portion II. These pins have knurled heads 86 by which they may be turned. Surrounding the pins are helical springs l1 compressed between the webs Il and washers I8 loosely surrounding the pins and stopped by transverse pins.l extending through the pins 05. 'I'he spools have diametric notches at their rear ends adapted to receive these cross pins I9.

The result of the construction described is that the spools are rotatably mounted in the `head to carry the ribbon, which passes downwardly from one spool across the plate and upwardly to the other. Either spool may be rotated by its knurled head It to bring a fresh portion of the ribbon into coaction with the plate. The springs I1 not only hold the pins 8l' in engagement with the spools but hold the forward ends of the spools against the plate .l and thereby apply sufiicient friction to enable the ribbon to be maintained under proper tension.

I'he spools are normally encased by a removable sheet metal hood i0 which extends lengthwise over the head and is clamped in place by pin Il which is mounted in the frame head ||i and at its lower end is surrounded by a compression spring 02 acting on the pin to hold it normally down on the hood. The lower annular portion of the head of the pin enters a circular enlargement of a slot I3 in the hood and the shoulder OI-a above such portion presses downwardly on the hood. When the pin 9| is lifted. its head frees the hood and the latter may be drawn of! forwardly to furnish access to the spools, thereby enabling the fresh ribbon to be installed whenever desired.

The hood l0 is provided at its lower edges with inwardly iianged extensions ll which lie directly beneath the iianges 6| of the plate holding strips and thus, serve as a mask defining the printing area. The hood is provided at its forward end with a fiat looped member DI which extends outwardly and then downwardly a short distance in front of the plate M and then inwardly into an opening in the plate. This not only prevents any displacement of the hood, which is a comparatively thin sheet metal member, but provides a convenient device to enable it to be drawn ofi, whenever desired, by the insertion of any suitable blade like a screw driver behind the loop.

I have referred to the plate A of Fig. 4 a's carrying two related legends and to the machine as being able to print either or both of them as desired. In effecting such printing I provide two platen members side-byaside mounted on the platen arm 2li, either or both of which members may be raised so as to be active for printing. Thus, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8. I provide two bars IIII and IUI pivoted by a transverse pin |02 to the platen arm 20. The bar |00 carries on its upper face a rubber platen block IM and the bar ||i| carries a platen block |05 shown as wider than the block IIN. The two arms ||I|Iand IM rest on a pin |||I mounted in the platen arm 20 and are maintained in engagement with such pin by springs |06 and |01, respectively, which are attached at their upper ends to pins |00 depending from the bars and at their lower ends to a cross pin |09 carried by the platen arm.

The control pin ||I| is formed with two ilat faces diametrically opposite each other. That is to say a fiat face III, Fig. 7, which is shown as in engagement with the bar |00 and a flat face III which is shown as on the under-side ofthe pin and distant from the bar IUI With the control pin in this position the bar IIlI is at a sufflcient elevation so that when the platen arm is operated by the lever 40 an impression will be made between the platen |05 and that portion of the embossed plate which is directly above it.

If the control pin I In were turned 180 then the platen IM would be raised to active position its mounting to prevent displacement but is y readily turned by a knurled head I5 on the pin. A suitable mark on the knurled head and cooperating indicia on the side of the platen arm, as indicated in Fig. 3, may show the user at a glance the setting of the control pin. Thus, with the arrow pointing to the numeral 3 as for making a proper entry for delivery to the i shown in Fig. 3, the indication may be that the wide platen only is active, printing three lines of type, for instance, the group a in Fig. 4. if

however, the arrow pointed to the numeral 2" then only the narrow platen would be active andprinting two lines of type, as in the group a--L If the arrow pointed to 5, both platens would be active for printing five lines, which could be the groups a and a-l.

It will be seen that my printing machine is a comparatively small, simple device, which may be readily carried about and conveniently manipulated by the hand of the operator. The formation of the handle into the form of a pistol grip and the forming of the operating lever to be readily forced into the hollow of that grip by the fingers of the hand engaging the grip provide very convenient means for carrying the device and operating it. The operating parts are compactly arranged within the instrument itself and are carried primarily by the two main members, namely, the head frame and the platen frame. The independent piatens are carried in simple manner and easily selected. The plate is readily inserted and can only reach position to release the platen arm when its type face is in the proper position for printing. The ribbon is readily mounted and'easilyy replaced whenever necessary, but is entirely protectedinuse.

Such a device as herein shown and described has a wide variety of uses. For instance, in store tokens it is very convenient to carry several lines of type. For instance, it might be desired to have a mans name with his office address and his wifes name with the house address Ior rendering accounts at either place or examples to indicate the large variety of uses to which the device may be put.

Reference is made to my copending application No. 387,158, lecLApril 7, 1941, for claims on the platen operating mechanism including the means for printing by either of a plurality of individual platens, and to my application No. 387,159, led April '7, 1941, for claims relating to the normally active latch for the platen, released by the insertion of the printing plate in the proper position.

I claim: y

In a device of the character described, the combination of a head formed to carry a removable printing plate, a shank leading rearwardly from the head, a handle extending downwardly from the shank and grooved on its front side, a platen arm pivoted to the shank, a lever pivoted to the shank adjacent the top of the handle, a roller on the arm which is engaged by a camming surface at the upper end of the lever, and a spring in the hollow handle attached to the handle and arm for maintaining the roller in engagement with the lever.

CHARLES H. SAND, Jn. 

